HAPPY 18th BIRTHDAY DIVA! Cara and I have been friends for almost 9 years - that means I met Diva half-a-lifetime ago (well half her lifetime anyway!) It's is so awe inspiring to watch that little girl grow up into a sophisticated young woman who now drives - it's crazy. Have a happy crazy wonderful day Diva!

Two weeks from now, my boy will be 15 - again I can't believe it. Each year I watch him get taller and taller (not taller than me yet) and think where did he come from? This big guy - who is still so much my little boy.

Yesterday my dog, Bali, who will be 16 in June, fell down the stairs. I heard her come down - and I knew it was bad. By the time I got to her, she couldn't stand and had no use of her back legs. She was stunned, probably in shock, and really not too aware of her surroundings. I picked her up, carried her to her bed and just waited to see what she would do next. She tried to stand - tried to walk, but couldn't. I called the vet and brought her in - fully expecting to come home empty handed. I cried all morning - I cried at the vet - my kids were crying, I was telling them stories about how I picked her out at a flea market in Johannesburg, South Africa. I took her with me to my first sonogram appointment when I was pregnant with Sam. She came to a Hugh Makasela concert when she was just a puppy in Soweto - she even peed on Winnie Mandela's lawn when she was a few weeks old. This dog and I have history together. She was there when all three of my children were born - she slept under their cribs and barked at me to come when they cried. She dutifully cleaned up after them when they dropped their food from the high chair. My kids don't know life without her and neither do I. The vet was a lot more optimistic than I was. They x-rayed her - nothing broken - drugged her up and sent her home. She seems to have a concussion and some bruising on the spinal column - but should get use of her legs back in a few days or so we hope. I thought I was ready to let her go - but I realized today I am not - and I don't think I ever will be.

Where does the time go? Year by year it slips by. Birthdays and anniversaries and the start and stop of the school year. It marches on - and whether we want to or not, we are marching right along with it.

Cara's two cents: OMG about Bali (will call in a little bit) and Diva says thanks for the plug!!!